FREE!

The virtual group will be held the 3rd Monday of the month from April 21, 2025 – March 16, 2026.

Meeting Dates: 5/19/2025, 6/16/2025, 7/21/2025, 8/18/2025, 9/15/2025, 10/20/2025, 11/17/2025, 12/15/2025, 1/19/2026, 2/16/2026, 3/16/2026

The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) is excited to launch the Lunch Break – Parent Support Group for adoptive, foster, and kinship parents and caregivers!*

Topics covered include relationship building, grief and loss, birth family relationships, coping skills and self-care, and so much more.

In this monthly group we will engage in thought provoking, honest conversations, receive support and guidance, and leave better equipped with expanded knowledge, skills, and confidence – knowing you are not alone. We look forward to seeing you there!

This is a drop-in group and participation at every session is not required. *

The Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series is a free monthly webinar series for the mentoring field hosted and facilitated by MENTOR National, as well as a planning team of MENTOR Affiliates. Through ongoing evaluation of the latest developments in the field, this team delivers webinars focused on strengthening mentoring practices, sharing new resources, and helping the field put research into practice.

Current webinars are held monthly on the 3rd Thursday at:

• 10:00 – 11:30 AM Pacific
• 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Mountain
• 12:00 – 1:30 PM Central
• 1:00 – 2:30 PM Eastern

Webinars are free and online. Links to register for the upcoming webinar, with full descriptions and panelist information, are posted in the month leading up to the webinar. Check back periodically as plans for each month are finalized!

This evidence-based, trauma-informed workshop helps parents recognize the signs and symptoms of prenatal substance exposure and trains them on techniques that work best with kids exposed prenatally to alcohol and drugs. Each 90 minute session is held on Zoom and includes facilitated discussion with other caregivers working with these children. We are able to offer this workshop free through the support of the Jockey Being Family®Foundation.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn to recognize the primary symptoms and secondary impacts of prenatal substance exposure.
2. Understand and learn the process and available resources for diagnosis.
3. Understand the five keys to support family success.
4. Learn a 3-step approach with strategies to support your child.
5. Apply knowledge of symptoms and strategies to address issues in children of various age levels.

Workshop Dates:
All Sessions begin at 7 pm Eastern Time Zone. 

FREE!

Join us online for an informative session on how to broach the topics of substance abuse. Our CORE (Connecting to Opportunities for Recovery and Engagement) experts will share essential insights on how to talk to your family about drugs and alcohol. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference—your knowledge could save a life!

FREE!

Supporting Independence focuses on helping the person living with dementia take part in daily activities, providing the right amount of support and balancing safety and independence while managing expectations.

Join us to learn how dementia changes a person’s independence and impacts safety, how to provide the right amount of support, and tips to make every activity meaningful to the person living with dementia.

When we step into a caregiving role, it’s important to consider the financial implications this can have. Financial planning allows the space to consider short-term financial planning, as well as long-term planning. Join us for our November support call to discuss financial planning considerations during the caregiving journey.

Support calls are held virtually.
After registering for a support call, a Microsoft Teams Meeting link and phone number
will be provided so that you can join virtually or by phone.

The Pawsons Celebrate is about a lovable, furry family of monsters who have just moved to the town of Edgewood. They are a little odd – but what family isn’t? Even though they are big, fuzzy, and a little over the top, they have big hearts and are always excited to share their joy with the people around them. In this follow-up to The Pawsons Move In, we get a chance to see them celebrate all of their favorite holidays, with one very special day coming up on their calendar. It’s their son Maury’s Gotcha’ Day – the celebration of his official adoption! The authors Brian and Josie Parker have infused this story with their unique experiences as creative weirdos, foster parents, and members of a diverse community, to tell a one-of-a-kind story. It’s filled with the kind of whimsical and joyous chaos that is part of their everyday lives, brought to you in a vibrant illustrations style similar to Ghibli Animation, Tony DiTerlizzi, Maurice Sendak, and Dan Santat.

FREE!

Learn how to recognize warning signs of burnout, understand its root causes, and implement effective management strategies

Join us to learn about the step-by-step process to become eligible for services from DDD. Topics will include SSI, Medicaid eligibility, the NJCAT, Support Coordination, and more!

Over 50,000 storage facilities dot the U.S., with one in ten households renting a unit to store items they rarely, if ever, revisit.

Join us for an interactive discussion to examine why individuals hold onto possessions they seldom use, and what this behavior reveals about consumer tendencies. Led by a seasoned expert in senior move management, this session will delve into the motivations fueling this expanding market and present practical strategies for practitioners to support seniors, their families, and clients throughout the moving and downsizing process.

The theme of this year’s conference is Catalysts for Change: Innovating Advocacy through Power Sharing and Transformational Leadership. The theme underscores the need to rethink traditional advocacy models, actively share power, andharness the creativity and resourcefulness of all involved in child welfare systems to drive lasting, meaningful practice and policy reform.

FREE!

Join us at our Dementia Caregivers Support Group to connect, share, and learn together.

Amid rapid and widespread changes in the health care system, it is critical that Medicare beneficiaries maintain access to reliable, high-quality care. This timely discussion will connect the dots between healthy people and a healthy democracy, exploring how policy shifts and technology are reshaping care delivery—and what we can do to protect coverage, affordability, and informed access.

The goal of our conference is to offer families and professionals the opportunity to: 

​Network, become partners, and to learn from each other’s experience.

• Learn about ways to improve policy and enhance practices for families whose children have or are at risk of experiencing behavioral health and/or substance use challenges.

• Acquire skills and strategies that will improve outcomes for families and their children.

• Gain knowledge of best practices, and latest research in children’s mental health, substance use and related fields. 

• Enrich understanding of different perspectives and common goals in support of all children, youth, and families. 

​We welcome proposals that align with our theme, tracks, and National Core Competencies.

FREE!

Thursday, November 13, 2025

• Morning: 10:00–11:30 AM
• Evening: 7:00–8:30 PM

Via Zoom

We often struggle to find the words to talk to kids about life-changing diagnoses, illness and death. Sometimes, we feel so unsure of what to say that we don’t say anything at all. But our kids need to be given the opportunity to engage in honest conversations about these life-changing events.

Those attending the webinar will learn to:

• Understand why it’s important to talk to kids about death
• Create opportunities to develop children’s understanding of death
• Normalize conversations about death and grief
• Provide concrete tools and language to use in these conversations

FREE!

This presentation will offer practical strategies to address problem anxiety in children and teens. It will emphasize understanding the signs and triggers of anxiety while fostering open communication and emotional safety at home. Preventative measures, such as maintaining consistent routines, promoting healthy sleep and nutrition, and encouraging physical activity, are highlighted as essential to reducing anxiety risks. The presentation will also provide actionable techniques for lowering anxiety in the moment, such as breathing exercises, grounding techniques, and positive reinforcement. Attendees will be equipped with tools to create supportive environments and empower children and adolescents to manage anxiety effectively.

Registration Fee: $85

Registration: 8:00 AM – 8:45 AM
Conference: 8:45 AM – 3:00 PM

Discover how mindful creativity can enhance well-being and bring greater intention and joy to everyday life. Lauren will discuss practical techniques from her book, answer your questions, and guide us in exploring the powerful connection between hands-on making and mindfulness.

Lauren Kingsland, textile artist and acclaimed author of Hands on Mindfulness: Discover how mindful creativity can enhance well-being and bring greater intention and joy to everyday life.